Your Voice
by TheDandelion
Summary: DMHG PLEASE REVIEW! Draco has lost his wealth, his father is murdered and his mother commits suicide, he is left with nothing to live for, apart from the girl who never lost her faith in him. Can she save him? Post Deathly Hallows and contains spoiler!


A/N: Yesterday, out of the blue, I decided to check my old email, and through all the spam and junk, I found these emails from , about reviews and story alerts and stuff. It felt so nostalgic; I could almost see the dust and the cobwebs in my inbox. Even though long time has passed since I started my stories full of mistakes and naive ideas, somehow I felt I was still the child in love with this series. I said 'what the hey, let's give it another go.' So here I am, continuing this story that I never forgot. Although my memory of the whole series is a little fuggy, especially the last book, I still remember my plans for this story very well, so I am revising the first three chapters and will upload the fourth soon. Please bear with me and forgive all my mistakes and inaccuracies which are bound to follow! Hope you enjoy it!

Disclaimer: I don't own harry potter series.

…

Hermione Granger was a hero, the ultimate prodigy of valour. She was on the highest peaks of the accomplishment of a lifetime worth of dreams. And yet, once the dreams are captured, they seem much less appealing as they used to. They lose their glory once they are subdued, just like a mighty stallion does, once he bends to the will of mankind. Hermione was acquainted with this feeling of disappointment very well.

Everyone in the magical world looked up at her with awe and admiration, children would point at her in the street and yell at their parents, voicing their wishes of becoming someone like her, and their parents would nod in satisfaction. Everywhere, she was confronted with countless requests of retelling the series of events which led to the victory over the dark lord.

And she got sick of it a long time ago.

Unlike Ron, and to some point Harry, Hermione never cared for fame or glory. On the contrary, she preferred the quiet life of namelessness, and freedom of the responsibility of being a role model. All she wanted in her life was to be with her loved ones, including her family and friends, and to be able to pursue her dream of a world free of evil, and to bring justice upon people trying to disturb that dream.

So she tried to get away from the spotlight, and she didn't find a better escape than overworking. After all, that was her answer to everything, as Ron would remark whenever the subject came up.

She buried herself in her new office in the Department of Magical Law Enforcement, and she went on missions after missions, without having a proper weekend. Her job consisted of many difficult tasks; she had to track down the deatheaters who weren't arrested yet, and were stupidly going after the remnants of the past glory. She also had to investigate and interrogate the accused past members of the deatheaters circle, to ascertain whether they committed the felonies out of their own free will, or under the influence of the Imperium curse.

But today, she wasn't doing any of the mentioned above.

This is the story of how the life of Hermione Granger changed with what most people would call love on first sight, or at least love on first sight after three years.

Hermione let out a frustrated sigh as she shifted in her uncomfortable seat, in the deserted corridor outside of the court room. She looked at her wrist watch for what seemed like the thousandth time, thoughts of her giant pile of unfinished paperwork swarming in her head.

_I wish I had brought some of them with me_. She thought enviously, imagining the number of the tedious paperwork she could've finished in the two hours she had wasted, waiting to get in the court and testify.

_Testify_… She could not repress a groan. It was Narcissa Malfoy's final trial, the third trial regarding a deateater Hermione took part in the past week. She had been called along with many other fellow Hogwarts students to testify on her behalf. And now, with all the other witnesses gone, she was now, much to her relief, alone in the corridor.

The confrontation with her many former schoolmates was an utter nightmare. As she entered the small corridor, they all fell silent and gazed intensely at her as she strode awkwardly toward the furthest empty chair in sight, acknowledging some of her classmates on the way with a curt nod. And as she settled in the chair, they kept at their silent staring contest, none said a word, and caused her to feel itchy in many places.

She knew this bizarre behaviour was due to the latest rumours about her unfriendly manner toward her fans. Well, of course there was no way that THE Hermione Granger could ever be unfriendly toward anyone, death eaters aside of course, but she had refused way too many invitations and public events for her own good. People had gone as far as saying she had gone crazy with fame and wealth, and had become so conceited and arrogant she could no longer withstand the degradation of associating with commoners!

That had led to her further isolation, and with Harry and Ron and her few other friends being so busy, she had barely came into any sort of human contact with anyone besides her assistant and boss in the past month. She often would wonder if she had done the right thing, cringing away from the spotlight like this, after all, the magical world was where she belonged; she didn't have a single friend in the muggle world anymore.

_Maybe I should try to find some of my childhood friends…_

Her train of thoughts where interrupted as her name was called to the witness stand. She stood up wearily and entered the courtroom and trudged toward the chair. The clerk hastily asked her to swear as she was taking her seat in the chair, obviously exhausted from the length of the court session.

A tall man with fancy clothes approached her, who seemed to be a very expensive lawyer the Malfoy family hired to defend their members. He loudly cleared his throat and before he could begin to speak, Hermione threw a quick glance at the few people present in the courtroom. She recognised Narcissa Malfoy immediately, sitting in the defendant stand, looking very pale and very tired, and very elegant at the same time, Hermione always secretly admired the woman's beauty.

She was going to declare Narcissa Malfoy innocent, much to her protest. Harry had convinced her that the blonde snobby lady was so.

Hermione's eyes bounced back to the lawyer when he loudly cleared his throat again. "Miss Hermione Granger, you are Harry Potter's best friend, right?" He asked with a small smile.

"Yes." She retorted wearily.

"So, you have heard about the 'incident' he had with Mrs Malfoy?"

"Yes."

"And you have agreed to testify to her innocence?"

"Yes."

"Thank you so much Miss Granger, we appreciate your cooperation, I have no more questions from the witness."

Hermione restrained herself from groaning out loud as she thought about the whole two hours she wasted waiting outside the court for her name to be called, just to come in and say 'yes' three times. Honestly, how many witnesses did the woman need to confirm her innocence? She probably could easily bribe the whole jury…

Her train of thought was abruptly cut off as she laid her eyes on a distinctive blonde haired figure on her way to the exit. It was Draco Malfoy, sitting at a far corner of the room, next to his father, chained to the chair and sombrely staring back at her. It took her awhile to fully recognize his face, for he had changed drastically since the last time she had seen him.

_Malfoy_…stuttered Hermione in her mind as she limply searched for the doorknob, eyes still fixed on her school days enemy. Her hand finally came into contact with the cold doorknob after what seemed like hours, and she pushed the door open, staring into the eyes of Draco Malfoy as she passed through the door frame, until she couldn't see him anymore. The door closed behind her with a loud thud, the noise resonating from the walls and sending waves of throbbing pain to her head.

She stood lifelessly in the hallway, staring blankly at the wall in front of her, not really seeing anything.

Draco Malfoy.

Son of Narcissa Malfoy.

She knew that, all the time she knew that. It was _his_ mother's trial after all, and yet Hermione was extremely shocked. Almost like she was suddenly, and in a very harsh manner, reminded of someone's existence she had deliberately forgotten.

The past three years since the defeat of Voldemort was a flurry of celebrations and rejoices, mourning and trials …The Malfoys' case had been dragging on due to its controversy. On one hand Lucius Malfoy's link to the dark lord was obvious, and on the other hand, Harry, the biggest hero of the wizards' history, testified on their behalf. Every day on the newspaper, she would read about the Malfoys, mostly Lucius and occasionally about Narcissa, and never about Draco. She had truly forgotten his existence, as if he had belonged to a former life, to a dream long forgotten. Seeing him in the courtroom was like a punch to the face.

Hermione shook her head, having already enough on her mind, she didn't have the time to worry about a boy who made her better days a living hell. _Hell_… she chuckled sarcastically as she stepped out of the building. _What did I know about hell back then?_

….

Harry gave Hermione a perplexed look as he took a small sip from his coffee.

"Draco Malfoy?" he asked with a raised eyebrow. Hermione looked around the crowded cafe, as if she was asking about something illegal.

"Yeah… What's the deal with him?" Harry's eyes widened slightly at Hermione's enthusiasm about the subject.

"He's in jail." Harry retorted briefly, but before Hermione could ask another question, he asked.

"Weren't you at his mother's trial just yesterday?"

"Yes… I mean… yesterday… I saw him … I thought…um…" She trailed of, at a loss of word to explain her sudden interest in someone whose name had never came up since Voldemort's defeat.

"Well, did he talk to you… or something?"

"No. I just saw him."

"And…?" Harry paused, silently encouraging Hermine to continue.

"Um… nothing" Hermione shook her head nervously, for some reason she felt extremely guilty of her curiosity regarding Malfoy.

Harry looked around the café, trying to figure out his best friend. Lately, she had been the main subject of his pillow talk with Ginny, and now it was slowly dawning on him, the fact that maybe his wife's suspicions, which he dismissed so thoughtlessly, might've been true. Hermione really acted strangely.

"Are you alright?"

"Yes, I'm fine! Why do you ask?" Hermione tried to sound as convincing as she could, but she knew all too well that her pale complexion and dark circles around her eyes were too apparent to be covered by her lacking lying skills. She had spent last night at her desk, staring at the giant pile of paper in front of her, not moving a muscle. Malfoy's withered face could not leave her mind.

She forced a smile on her lips. "I'm fine, perfectly fine. I just saw him yesterday, and… ever since then, I kept thinking, he's been in jail all this time! I mean… funny, huh? I had really forgotten about him." She paused for a second before continuing. "I feel almost… guilty."

Harry didn't say anything for a few seconds, contemplating what Hermione just said.

"I know what you mean." He said finally, after a long pause while nodding his head slightly. "It is hard to believe he who was just a mere bully turned into a serious criminal, right? I mean, Malfoy! He was just a spoiled brat." He paused for a chuckle. "But you know, he never became a deatheater."

Hermione's heart almost stopped for a moment. "He didn't?"

"No, he is in jail for attempted murder, you know, Dumbledore, and the rest of the things he did… but he will be freed soon, the whole family's doing alright, apart from the money issue of course." Harry took another sip from his coffee, his face cringed when the lukewarm liquid entered his mouth. He liked his coffee hot.

"Money problems?"

"The family's lost all their fortune, they were fined, just like any other deatheater family, and they have been fined a great deal of money, almost more than they could pay, I guess." Harry set his cup back down on the table, staring at it thoughtfully.

Hermione leaned back in her chair, clasping her hands around the now cold cup in front of her, deeply engulfed in her thoughts. Malfoy had spent two years in jail, he was going to be released soon, the family didn't have any money left, and in the current situation, there was no way anyone could trust or help a former deatheater family. So they probably had to take extreme measures. It all summed up in Hermione's head in a few splitting seconds, nicely enough to give Hermione another headache and keep her awake for a few nights to come.

"Don't tell me you dragged me all the way out of work for this?" Harry asked sternly, his eyebrows joining in a frown. "It's so unlike you." Hermione opened her mouth in an attempt to answer, but no words came out.

"Just don't forget about Friday." he said in a menacing voice as he was getting up ready to go, but stopped in the act upon seeing Hermione's slightly widened eyes. He rolled his eyes out of frustration and yelled in a low voice. "Ginny's party! I sent you a note!"

"Oh, that… oh, um… I don't think I would be coming…" She was cut short by Harry's grunt. "Oh please Harry, I've got work to do, and besides, Ginny always introduces me to those awkward guys, honestly, I don't need a boyfriend…"

"That's just her way of caring for you Hermione, and personally, I think it's a great idea. Going on dates would take your mind off things, and then you wouldn't be bothered by sympathy for the likes of Malfoy."

"Alright, I'll come." Hermione glared at his friend back as he exited the café, somehow feeling extremely insulted by what he had just said.

….

Hermione cursed under her breath and slammed her fist on her alarm clock in the darkness. The sun hadn't still come up yet, and she had to get up to go to the Department of Magical Law Enforcement, for work.

She blindly searched the nightstand beside her bed for her wand, and when her hand touched it's slender form, she illuminated her neat room, still cursing under her breath.

She didn't get a wink of sleep last night as she had predicted, reminiscing about her school years with her former classmate, and the memories kept pouring in her mind. She had been called many names by him, mudblood being the most frequent one, and once, he cursed her, making her teeth as large as an oversized beaver. She used to call him names too, ferret being the most frequent one, she even slapped his face once.

She had known him for many years, although she never tried to get to know him better, she knew him much more than a person she could simply forget, and it greatly annoyed her. She remembered the time Harry said something about him crying in the bathroom before he cursed him with that dark spell. She remembered the feeling of confusion and disbelief about the existence of something as emotional as tears in Malfoy.

And there was a tiny bit in her, which she eagerly tried to quench, that wanted desperately to meet him. She frowned sternly at her tired reflection in the mirror as she was brushing her teeth, _no, no no, you_ _are not going anywhere near him, or his family._

"It's got nothing to do with you." she voiced her thought, and then spat in the sink.

…

She ate a brief breakfast in the kitchen, trying to keep as quiet as possible in order not to wake the other occupants of the house. She lived with her parents.

Then she flooed herself to her office, seeing that she was the first one to show up at the deserted office, let out a groan of disappointment. They were supposed to hold an early meeting that day, but apparently everyone had simultaneously decided to sleep in. She sat down behind her desk, examined the letters the owls had brought since last day and tried hard to concentrate. But it was really like a part of her was lost, like she had left it, in the courtroom, in front of the exit door, staring at Draco Malfoy's pale face.

She clenched a letter she was holding and slammed her fists hard on the desk, causing the neatly stacked papers to fall on the floor. Hermione sadly sighed, thinking maybe she should take a day off, for the first time since she started to work.

She left the deserted office and flooed back home, to get some much needed sleep. But instead, she tossed and turned in her bed for three hours, unable to sleep despite of her exhausted state. She would drift into sleep, only to be disturbed by the image of his sunken cheeks, his messy hair, his chapped lips and lifeless glare.

She shivered when she thought of those eyes, having the look of an animal on the verge of dying, boring into the eyes of a vulture waiting patiently for it to die, fearful, defeated, yet desperately beseeching for help.

Then she felt a single tear escape her eye.

…

She spent the whole day going erratically around the house, tiding up, watching TV, reading newspaper or books and trying to put her potion's ingredients into alphabetic order. All her efforts were to prevent him from penetrating her thoughts.

Her parents had left early for work and she was alone, she knew Harry and Ron and Ginny were at work too, thus she decided to find something else to occupy her mind with. But every now and then, while she was washing the dishes, which could simply cleaned with a spell, or when she was putting her books back in the shelf, his face would creep into her mind, as if his image had been etched on her pupils, and her heart would sink deeply into her stomach pit.

_I have to see him…_

…

The next day Hermione found herself in Azkaban, queasy with a headache forming in her temples due to her lack of sleep, clutching firmly the latest issue of Daily Prophet, covering Narcissa Malfoy's interview after her trial.

It was 6 in the morning.

She strode to the reception desk, where a young, sleepy wizard was sitting behind it. Azkaban was no longer ruled by dementors. But The place itself was as frightening as ever.

"Good Morning Rob, how are you?" Not waiting for his reply she continued nervously, fidgeting with the newspaper in her hand. "I'm here to see an inmate."

The young wizard rubbed his eyes and stifled a yawn. "Are you on a mission? Because if you're not, you know, I can't let you visit an inmate outside of visiting… hoooouuuuuuuurs." He finally yawned.

"No… I'm not…I just came here to see someone" Hermione retorted while fighting a yawn herself, then continued, "I need to see him." She said, suddenly changing to her bossy tone.

The wizard called Rob eyed her suspiciously for a moment, and then yawned again.

"Who do you want to see?"

"Draco Malfoy." The name echoed tauntingly from the empty walls of the vast room and sent shivers up and down Hermione's spine.

Rob lifted his eyebrows and eyed her for another minute. Hermione always hated him, he was so rude. Then he grudgingly pulled out a giant book from the drawer beside him and started flipping the pages to find Malfoy's name. Hermione peered into the pages and saw Draco Malfoy's name above his parent's name.

The names of each inmate's visitors were written for the record, and Hermione noticed during the two years Draco Malfoy had spent in jail, he only had two visitors, a Martin Langdon whom Hermione recognized as the family's lawyer, and much to her surprise, Harry Potter.

"He's in section 5-B" Rob said while writing her name in the book and handing her the key to the cell with his other hand.

"I don't think he's awake though." He drawled as she turned on her heel to leave the room. "Just wanted to warn you, he's a little… grumpy" She nodded briefly.

As an employee in the Department of Magical Law Enforcement, she had had frequent visits to Azkaban, and knew her way around very well. But in that particular day she was so dizzy and confused, she could barely remember where section 5-B was.

After much effort, she found the corridor labelled as section 5-B, her heart jumping to her throat as she noticed that only one of the doors of the cells were closed, indicating that Malfoy was confined there.

She didn't know what to expect, didn't know what to say, how to explain herself. She could only guess what Malfoy's reaction could be, and it wasn't much to her favour. She didn't hope for anything, her mind was as blank as the sky looming over Azkaban.

She took a few steps forward and Malfoy's head came into view from behind the bars. Hermione couldn't see his face for he was facing the wall, she could only his unruly golden hair resting against a muted grey coloured pillow, and drastically contrasting with it. She could say that he was deeply asleep from the gentle rising and falling of his chest.

She sat on the ground and waited two hours for him to wake up.

During the two hours, he didn't move a muscle, didn't make a single sound, and she was about to give up when he finally stirred in his narrow bed and groaned softly. He took a deep breath and rose to a sitting position, rubbing his slightly puffed eyes then bending in a fit of harsh coughs, without noticing Hermione's presence.

In a moment, Hermione's cowardice, which had been nagging at the back of her head for the whole time, won over. Silently, she got up on her feet and stepped back, but being as slow as she is in making decisions, Malfoy saw her before she could exit his view.

He blinked a few times, evidently trying to figure out whether he was still asleep or not, his messy bangs hanging loosely before his eyes.

He looked so heartbreakingly beautiful, like a dead flower.

Hermione had to prop her arm against a wall in order to keep herself from collapsing. Malfoy was silent, still in indecision whether he was awake or not.

"Hi." a weak, hardly audible sound came from Hermione's throat. Malfoy straightened his back and pushed his hair away from his eyes.

"Hi." his voice was coarse and weak, but sounded quite familiar to Hermione's ears, and it made her heart beat even faster than before.

"What do you want?" He asked unmoving, a small frown creeping on his forehead. Hermione took a deep breath, she didn't know how to answer.

"I came here… to see you." Malfoy quirked a blonde eyebrow at her response.

"I saw you the other day in the court, your mother's trial, and I thought I… I… give you a visit." She felt extremely stupid.

Malfoy turned his head and looked around his small cell, then looked back at her again with an intense glare in his silvery eyes, as if he wanted to see past her.

"Get lost." He hissed menacingly.

Hermione was speechless, she had expected him to act rudely, but she couldn't explain this feeling of angry surprise. She opened her mouth to say something but was cut off by Malfoy, who suddenly rose to his feet and hissed the two words again.

"Get lost."

Hermione stepped back, then turned on her feet and fled to the stairs leading to the exit, tears of rage welling in her eyes.

He was much taller than she remembered.

a/n: Well, first chapter down, two to go (with the revision of course). I have to warn you dear readers, this story will wander a little to the depressing side, and that might be influenced by my current situation, working with terminally ill patients and all, but I promise you a happy and heart-warming ending, since I hate sad endings so much! Review please!


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